This week...so far.

Summer is almost over.  We've been enjoying the cooler evenings and spending most of them in the back yard. 

I've got a baby shower to go to on Thursday and was going to make a baby size quilt of this one with these fabrics...

 But then I realized it was already a bit too late for that....So I'm doing something different with some of the fabrics in the next picture...

 This was what my table looked like this morning...There are about 4 different projects in that mess.  The ones on the top right will become the baby quilt :) and I think it will be awesome! 

This black and white star with the aqua center is for the Quilt Around The World II bee.  Specifically for a parisian themed quilt in these colors.  I don't have any Paris fabric, but the name of this block in 99 Modern Blocks is the Parisian Star, so that works right?

 I used 5" charms to make it closer to the size of all the other blocks going into this quilt so far.

This is for Bianca.  She is the queen bee this month for We Bee Modern and asked for the Parisian Star block from that book to be done in modern bright fabrics.  I had a hard time getting accurate colors in this picture, but I really wanted to keep this block, I love the fabrics in it.  Hoping she does too! 

 This is my starter block for the QATW II bee.  My "theme" is blue/aqua, yellow, and grey colors and whatever design they want to make.  I LOVE making these stars and didn't have one for myself in those colors to go with the other blocks yet so that's what I made. 

Anyone else in need of a star? 

I still have 3 other projects in the works that use this block!  

Hope you are all doing well with back to school and the summer ending.  My kids are both too young for school still, but I know it'll only be a couple more years!  Too fast.

Blue and Grey Boy Quilt

I finished something! 

This blue and grey boy quilt has some of my all time favorite fabrics in it. 

I LOVE that little fox, and the bunting too.  Those whales?  The boys from Sarah Jane's collection Children at Play?!  Aneela Hoey's foxes?  Those adorable elephants?! Some of the best boy geared fabrics of all time.

 

Oh yeah.  Summersville cars and tractors!  Those birds on the line in the bottom right were one of my first fabrics.  Still one of my favorites.  

It is 54X58 inches and did I mention I love it?!  Perfect for a growing little boy! 

I backed this quilt in a duvet cover from IKEA that is crazy soft and has a grid pattern that is totally boy!  It's bound in a dark blue fabric that frames it really nicely. 

It has been listed in my Etsy Shop and you can find the listing here.

I can't wait for an adorable little boy to have it and drag it all over the place!!

WIP wednesday!!

Well that was fast...it's Wednesday again!  And halfway through August...what?  Anyway, I did get some things worked on this past week. 

Soda Pop QAL - Top done!!

You've probably seen this by now, but I'm pretty proud of it.  My hope is to get the backing made and get the whole quilt finished off this weekend.  I'm really excited to use it and wash it and see how the texture of the petals changes.

Back in April I was in charge of two bees and I chose the same block for both of them so I'd be close to an entire top.  I chose the Parisian Star block from the book 99 Modern Blocks, I got back 20 blocks, and made an additional 10 to make it bigger. 

I'm hand quilting around each of the stars and I think it'll make it really lovely. 

Polaroid blocks to swap have been made and will be mailed today.

Scrap Vomit progress: If you ever get charm squares in a swap that you think are nasty, put them in a scrap vomit quilt and it will give them new purpose.  The ultimate second chance.  They will be transformed into awesomeness. 

Extra late blocks for the Bliss circle of do. Good Stitches.  They were MUCH easier than I expected.  You can find the tutorial here.

See those fabrics that look kindof yellow looking?  

They're actually green....and I can never get them to photograph true to color!

Next on the list:
I made a list last night of all the bee's I'm in, all the swaps I have going, all the QAL's I'm "participating" in (at my own speed) and all the extra/personal projects I've got on my list as either a need to do or started project.

Um....yeah...that's why I don't like making lists of my current in progress things...proves to myself that I really do take on too much and might be insane. 

baby boy quilt: I have a friend expecting a boy in the next 6 weeks and her baby shower is the end of this month.  I'm making her a quilt for her new guy, but I think she reads this so I'll have to wait until after to show you :)

I'm Hexy and I Know It: my Hexy MF QAL needs some work.  I haven't worked on it much this week and really need to get the rest of those flowers put together and start stitching the petals together.

This is what I have so far.  I love them.

In life news, the Mr. goes back to school in a week and a half....too soon! 

The olympics are over and I have to say, the closing cerimonies really satisfied my craving for good music.  I LOVED all the 80's stuff, espeically The Pet Shop Boys performance of West End Girls.  Their outfits and bikes and suits and jackets!!! So cool!

(Image source)

 And The Spice Girls?  I was in 5th grade when they were all anyone thought about, and have soooo many memories attached to those songs.  All ridiculous and totally awesome. 

Linking up with Lee at Freshly Pieced (on time!) this week!!  Happy Wednesday everyone! 

What are you working on these days??

Soda Pop Top Done!

I did it!

Well, the top part.

I took new pictures this morning.  Stood on a chair this time!

But that counts!!  Bless your soul Allegory, this top was a beast.  Thank you for allowing sewn up tops to count :)

 I sat on the back of the couch to get this shot.  This will be a good size quilt!  I like how the blue petals calm it down a little, but not too much.  It's hard to get true to color pictures with a phone camera, but these are all pretty saturated colors! 

This quilt pattern is by Katy Jones and is in the Fat Quarterly Shape Workshop for Quilters book.  The fabric I used is all from the collection Cocoon by Valori Wells.  

I thought sewing the around the petals with my FMQ foot would be simple...but it was NOT...and if you look really closely, it looks like I sneezed during quilting (see below).  I may have.  But not that many times.

I really really wanted to get this done to enter into the linky party and I made it just in time!  Of course that is why the photos are so dark, but I'll add have added some more tomorrow when the sun comes up!  this morning!

Right now I'm just thrilled to have gotten past all those petals!!! You can check out the other submissions here!

Now we sleep....g'night!


oh!  I can't for the life of me come up with a beverage related name for this thing....if you have any ideas will you tell me?  I might just give you something if I like what you come up with! 

WIP Thursday?

Oh goodness this week is going by so quickly!!!  

The Mr husband man was sick for a few days last weekend.  Nothing really bad but it meant he was pretty much unconscious for two days.  So I haven't been super productive like I wanted to...and it's been crazy hot...

Here's what we've been doing:

My kids absolutely LOVE Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.  I'm OK with it because they'll watch it and I can shower.  That's a win-win.  And totally random.

As is this shot of them eating cooked carrots, while shirtless, in the bathroom...

Anyway, I've gotten a couple blocks made for the Quilt Around The World II bee I'm in. 

I got some seriously awesome mail yesterday from Katie.  Recognize this little beauty?  Yep, I practically squealed when I saw it and can't stop grinning about it!  So so kind.  Thank you again Katie!

 There's even some extra fabric from Winterkist underneath!  I'm going to make a pillow!

It's been crazy hot lately.  But, we've been outside a lot.  Our backyard is wonderful because it's shady in the afternoon during the hottest time of the day so we can go outside and it's cooler than inside (we just have fans...).  Yesterday Abby brought out her cow (mine from 8th or 9th grade?) and decided it was sleepy, then got a book and read it a story.  So cute.  

This picture I'm especially proud of.  Not because the colors are wonderful, but because these are parts of the extra Parisian Stars I made today to finish my quilt top!  I got 20 of the blocks from being Queen bee back in April over two bees.  Yes, that said April...I finally got around to setting them all up and decided to make it bigger.  Meaning I needed 10 more stars.  I love making these stars though.  They're so fun and easy and the result is so great. 

I've been making progress on my Hexy MF quilt thanks to the Olympics.  It's a bit deceiving as I still have tons of flowers to put together.   All the ones I've done are only secured in the center...but I'm getting there...

Are you working on this too?  How far have you gotten?

I finally started cutting petals out for the Soda Pop QAL thanks to the link party starting over at Allegory's.  I'm really hoping to finish my quilt in time to link it up. 

I was worried about the print I picked from the Cocoon collection to use for the petals but it's much better than I was anticipating.  I really like it.  But it's a lot of ironing in a hot corner of the house. 

We have a tiny inflatable pool in the back yard and I grabbed this shot after the kids decided to jump in fully clothed this afternoon.  If only it was big enough I'd jump in it too.  Those are Abby's little feet.  I just noticed that she has my footprint where only 4 toes show up! 

And in case you're wondering about Matthew, he's recovering nicely from his broken arm earlier this summer.  He now things it's awesome to throw his football onto the roof and wait for it to roll back down.  He gets it on the roof 95% of the time.

And he LOVES watching the Olympics.  Both of them do.  I know the odds aren't in anyone's favor really to be an Olympian but who knows, right?

p.s. those commercials about Olympians moms really get me.  So cute. 

We made cookies today and now the Mr and I are watching McGyver!  "With someone named The Eraser there is no home field advantage," was just part of our conversation.

We've got two and a half weeks until Ben starts school again.  I've seen some of you are already back in school, or are already sending kids back to school!

My how the months pass.  Enjoy the upcoming weekend!  

Don't forget, the destash in my shop is still in full swing and you can check out my last post for a coupon code that'll be good all month!

Coupon Code

Hi everyone!

Just a quick post today (I've got lots of stuff coming up so it's a bit busy around here) to let you know I've got a coupon code for my Etsy shop good for 15% off everything (even quilts!!) until the end of the month!!  

Use coupon code happyaugust  at checkout to get 15% off everything! You can find my shop, LadyFaceQuilts, here.

I'd really like to get some new things in but want to get some space cleared before I list the new stuff.

Happy shopping! 

I Like Chicken

First, I know this is primarily a sewing blog with pictures of my kids.  There's none of that in this post. 

Second, I'm nervous to share this, even though it shouldn't be a big deal.  But it is a bit personal.  And for some reason I feel like sharing my opinion today. 

Let me tell you a story.

When I was in school growing up I had a good friend.  We met in midde school.  She and I had completely differing opinions, values, and viewpoints on everything.  I mean everything.  But we got along and had a great friendship because we didn't fight about our opinions.  We accepted the differences we had and enjoyed being together.  It was fun and easy to spend time together.  The fact that I was, and am, a member of the LDS church (Mormon) didn't matter to her, and the fact that she was not a Mormon didn't matter to me.  Why would it?

Then came the election of 2008 and with it Proposition 8.  Now, here was another place where our opinions drastically differed.  I didn't care.  I'm too shy to go around telling everyone what I think anyway.  She had one opinion, I had another.  That's the point (At this time I was married, finishing my last year of college and was pregnant with our first child - just for the mental timeline.  She was equally moving along in her life as well).

I don't know what happened.  Maybe it was that we didn't get to talk as much, but something changed.  I will say this.  I did not agree with her.  She did not agree with me.  I didn't try to convince her, and in the past she hadn't pressured me about my beliefs either.

But when this came along...it tore us apart.  My reason for believing one thing just wasn't enough.  She went after me for it.  I'm not playing victim, that's lame.  I answered her questions, respected her opinion, and she couldn't let it go.  I haven't spoken to or seen or heard from her in the almost 4 years since and it breaks me up.

I don't know why we couldn't go on being friends.   Just because I thought one thing and she thought another.  But it happened.  

This whole "issue" about chicken is ridiculous.

Here's why.

Everyone has an opinion.  That is a good thing.  That's the point.

I like Chick-Fil-A because (in my opinion) they make good chicken.  Not because they're closed on Sundays.  Not because they're run by a Christian family.  But because they make good food.  That's why I eat there.  If you don't like their chicken that's fine.  

I watch project runway because I like Tim Gunn, and I admire the creativity and people who are a part of it.  Not because of my opinion on Gay Marriage.

It shouldn't matter what Chick-Fil-A believes in (there are other dining options. Just go eat somewhere else.  Who cares where I have lunch?).

I think you should stand up for whatever it is you believe in!  Especially if it is being challenged or attacked.

But whatever side of the divide you are on, it is wrong to be mean when someone disagrees with you. 

You can live your life however you want to.  That's your business and your right.  But let me live my life the way I want to in return.  That's being respectful.

If you disagree with me that's great.  But I hope we can still be friends. 

And, in case you're curious...I am going to Chick-Fil-A today. 

It's 40 minutes away and happens to be two blocks away from the closest Target  ;)  Matthew needs longer pants and bigger shoes.  I'd be going there anyway, why not today?